Bushnell University Receives $250,000 Grant to Expand Rural Healthcare Access

EUGENE, Ore. – Bushnell University is committed to improving the health and wellness of the Lane County region. To help fulfill that commitment, Bushnell has been awarded a $250,000 grant from Lane Community Health Council (LCHC) to implement a strategic expansion plan which will meet two critical healthcare needs: expanding nursing enrollment and reaching rural communities with healthcare services. This timely grant will help Bushnell grow the clinical faculty necessary to train more nurses while maintaining quality instruction and support the efforts to increase the network of clinical placement sites—particularly in rural and underserved settings—to provide students with diverse, community-based learning experiences.

Lane Community Health Council (LCHC), a non-profit governing body for the Coordinated Care Organization (CCO) of PacificSource, strives to be in service to the vision of better health, better care, and better value in Lane County. LCHC completed its final round of Community Grants in May 2026, awarding its remaining funds to twenty-nine Lane County non-profit organizations. Bushnell University’s proposal to alleviate the healthcare workforce crisis and to provide equitable and medically necessary care and services to underserved populations was considered one of the high priorities for LCHC funding in this round.

Bushnell will deploy these funds over a two-year period, with funding supporting staff expansion in year one to grow the network of clinical placement sites for nurses in training and faculty expansion in year two to increase the number of students who can be admitted to Bushnell’s nursing program. The long-term outcomes will include growing the population of nurses entering the workforce while increasing the percentage of graduates choosing to serve in rural or underserved practice settings. This investment by LCHC helps create sustainable infrastructure for nursing workforce development while directly addressing healthcare access disparities in Lane County’s most vulnerable communities. Bushnell will sustain these positions beyond the grant period through tuition revenue generated by increased enrollment, ensuring long-term community impact.

Bushnell University’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program has demonstrated exceptional success, achieving a 100% NCLEX-RN first-time pass rate across all seven cohorts and placing 100% of graduates in nursing positions, with over 60% remaining in Lane County and over 85% remaining in Oregon. Bushnell’s first-time licensure exam passing rate holds as best in the State of Oregon, affirming the quality of the curriculum and faculty.